Bella sighed as she heard the yelling again. Another arrested citizen with no legal counsel being terrorised into submission.
Under her father's steady, fair hand, this police office had been a beacon of justice in Arizona county. But now he was dead and gone, crushed under the same stagecoach as her mother. With Caius as the acting head, any way to get a conviction was the right way by him. He with his shady connections to some Volterran underground organisation. Its leader, Aro, and second in command, Marcus, constantly swanning in and out of the station with impunity.
Terrorising arrested citizens to coerce a confession, 'loosing' paperwork and witness statements, burying open 'unsavoury' cases and ensuring that none of this obstruction of justice reached the press.
It made Bella sick and guilty. But she couldn't do anything; she was the typist, and she needed this job. Her parents may have loved her, but they certainly didn't leave her a rich orphan.
Caius, as bored as he is stupid, walked past her, but stopped and came back.
"Now, what's wrong apicula?" He asks, knowing full well his flaunting of the law tainted her late father's reputation, and rattled her greatly.
She grunts and ignores him, focusing on filing a few more reports, while keeping a tedious log to remind these buffoons that consequences do indeed have actions.
The man looked very upset at the brush-off, he leaned further against her desk. "Now Isabelle, while I have you … I'm afraid things haven't been working out lately." Caius began, sugary sweet with disappointment. "I'm sure with grief over your late father, we've been more than fair … but unfortunately some of my men have had serious complaints; paperwork and confessions missing and whatnot …." He added heavily.
Bella tried not to roll her eyes; as though attempting to keep these men honest to the law they claimed to uphold was so wrong. As though half the time, Caius himself wasn't sweeping paperwork under the rug.
Caius glances away from this scolding, to mention a pretty young woman to stand next to him. She does, with a bubbly smile. "Bianca here is to train under you." Caius informed Bella, with no small satisfaction. "I'm sure you'll give her a thorough rundown of her duties here." He added.
Bella stood, brushing off miniscule flecks of dirt from her skirts. "Unfortunately, that may be a problem, Caius," she began, "as I plan on quitting by the end of the day. But, as per union guidelines, you've named my successor in advance, so you're required to reimburse me for the full work day." She informed him. It was worth it, to see the way his false smile slipped off of his face. This was no longer the good, hard-working force she grew up with; they had long been retired and replaced. She would not miss the warped corruption that had emerged.
Bella sat with a cooling coffee, in a grungy diner, later that day. She was all packed up and gone. This was not good, she had no form of income, no other experience and certainly wasn't able to rely on her meagre savings for very long. There were the laundresses, doomed to a life of arms cracked and raw under the scalding water and chemicals, or the factories, with huge machines and her clumsiness. Lord knew how long she could last in those sorts of places …. They would be the very last resort. And not a path she was willing to walk without a fight.
Bella needed a plan, and Lord Almighty, was she bad at them. Dejected, she turned to the newspaper, it was a dinky thing that spoke about other parts of the country at an attempt of worldliness.
What Happened To The Ladies Of Forks?
The logging town of Forks, Washington is something of a social experiment. How mad can men go, with none of the fairer sex to guide them?
There are little instances of womenfolk in this town, left for larger places or taken by a recent outbreak of disease. Already there is a high instance of savageness among locals, including clashes with indian tribes. The only fair few left were ladies of the night, and not the sort of company to be kept in polite circles.
Bella threw the paper down without reading any further. No mystery; a tiny rural town with no women due to sickness and migration. Causing the men to fall into chaos.
It seemed her whole life revolved around the constant failings of mankind. Her father's clumsy attempts to appease her mother and mend their strained marriage, Caius' particular brand of justice …. She glanced down at the paper once more, and frowned a little. She was suspicious of the plan forming in her mind. It was stupid, it was foolish… It was a risk, but she hadn't much left to lose. The savings her parents left her were dwindling, though, and this could result in a steadier form of income.
She flipped to the back of the paper, where the postal information was printed. She grabbed up her pen and began drafting.
One Isabella Swan seeks single women in want of a husband, to be taken to Forks Washington after a deliberation period …
Young matchmaker calling for able-bodied women with no spouse to be paired with those who may not be gentlemen ….
Isabella Swan is in want of some wives ….
She sighed and rubbed her eyes. This was going to take some time indeed.
She thought carefully; these men needed women, and there were plenty in this city to be found. Not any ladies of the night, in any case, Bella wasn't planning on opening a brothel. But if she could call upon women of middling breeding and opportunity, offering them something outside this vast desert …. Well, it would be worth a train ticket, surely?
A logging town in Washington. Washington was a very green, barely tame place. Bella could imagine, a small, pretty cottage next to giant trees, filled with books and every good thing …. It was a dream she'd had as a girl, baking in the Arizona sun. A private fantasy world; trees hundreds of years old, barely a soul to disturb her. Being able to write.
Invigorated, Bella took the napkin next to her coffee and a stub of a pencil she kept in her sleeve, and began to draft up a plan. The cost of a train ticket, and a zeppelin, as Forks was quite far …. These men would need to pay for their new wife's accommodation on the way to them, as well …. And the fee Bella must charge, for having set up this endeavour …. This could work.
Caius called her a 'bee' in latin, FYI. Introducing the girls next.